Russia's EU envoy said the leftist and right-wing populism in Europe can produce "cumulative effect capable of cracking the nutshell of the European integration"

Andrzej Duda

BRUSSELS, May 27. /TASS/. The presidential elections in Poland won by representative of the opposition Law and Justice party Andrzej Duda have become another manifestation of the surge of populism in Europe, Russian Ambassador to the EU Vladimir Chizhov told TASS.

"The elections were held in Poland. Some were quick to extrapolate their results to the activities of the government but prematurely - the government remains the same. But the surge of populism is evident. There were two candidates running to become Poland’s president, both adhere to conservative views, but one of them had a distinct element of populism in his program, and he won," Chizhov noted.

"We observe similar trends in other countries. There is a cumulative effect: the EU sees a growth of the leftist populist sentiment against the backdrop of the crisis - in Greece, Spain and a number of other countries. In parallel with this, there’s growth of right-wing populism on the fertile ground of illegal migration. These two waves can produce the very same cumulative effect capable of cracking the nutshell of the European integration," he said.

Andrzej Duda who represents Poland’s main opposition party Law and Justice won the presidential elections in the country held on May 25. He secured 51,55% of the votes, while incumbent president Bronislaw Komorowski who sought reelection secured 48,45% of the votes.